The aim of this article has been to provide an insight into Croatian waste tyres market, which is
assumed to be the source of significant eco-innovation. At the outset, the analysis of relevant literature has been done regarding
the circular economy and eco-innovations. The empirical part of the study used the Strength-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats method
in order to determine the perspective of the main market stakeholders. In the course of the SWOT method conducting, an in-depth
interview was organized with managers of the only authorized mechanical recycling company in Croatia and an on-line questionnaire
was used to learn about thinking and attitudes of other ELT market stakeholders in Croatia - representatives of the Ministry of
Environmental Protection and Energy, Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Agency for the Environment and the
Nature, authorized ELT collectors, Croatian scholars involved in previous waste rubber scientific studies as well as representatives
of companies either using or selling rubber recyclate. Additionally, comparison to the European context has been conducted. Findings
suggest that Croatian legislation and practice follow European trends: collection rate of waste tyres is near 100 %, and the total
collected amount is being recycled - 83 % as the secondary raw material and 17 % as energy recovery. However, situational analysis
detected that underdeveloped industrial production hinders seizing the full potential of produced raw material, thus missing the
opportunity of generating the higher added value for the domestic economy. Consequently, Croatia's Eco Innovation Index was by
28 % lower than the EU average in 2017.

KEY WORDSwaste tyre rubber, eco-innovation, circular economy, Croatia

CLASSIFICATION

JEL:

O52, P27, Q56

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